I met Wayne a couple of years ago, but have been fairly distant for the last couple. Despite that, he has always been a guy that I have looked up to for creativity and will often trade random messages about crazy ideas we have. I consider my friendship with Wayne a creative blessing because he’s just one of those guys you love to dream and brainstorm with.
To tell you a little about this guy, he’s married to Kelli, who looks just like Alex from LOST, and has two incredible kids, Savannah and Cooper. I met Wayne when he and his film crew were shooting a documentary on the Alabama Gymnastics team and we were able to just bond over the long hours in the gym (not to mention, it was nice for Bryan, David, and I to have another guy around). His company, Wannabe Films, has created several 30 second commercial adds, online webisodes, and a few documentaries. He has even called me in a few times to help with some of the outings, and it was just such a blessing to shadow him and tag along.
Over the last year, he has helped encourage me on this 365 idea by doing it himself. He has stretched himself in photography and tells a story each day with his pictures. His year is done now, but it stretched his creative limits and sparked some new interests along the way. Earlier today, I got a message from him about a new creative idea he has. This idea will combine all forms of media like writing, film, photography, cartoons, graphics, and anything else out there to explore this idea. On top of that, he has pieced together a team with certain skill sets to launch this idea.
As I read through the message initially, I didn’t think there was much I could add to the group. But as I continued to think about it, I got excited. It was riveting to see a team begin to form and talents come together. Too often, we get such great ideas and believe we’re the one that’s supposed to provide everything and have all the answers. Even as I think through my ideas, I should think about who else I can involve instead of how I’ll do it all. Just because we have a dream doesn’t mean we’re the only one that plays a role in it.
Every time I’ve been with Wayne, I’ve seen the value of having a team around you that knows what to do. Pretty much everything we can do in life is better with a team, yet we continue to isolate more and more for one reason or another. I may say the same thing over and over, but I need people around me. There are so many contributors to this blog. I’ve had over 170 already. No matter how introverted or hermit like we may be naturally, it’s better to have others around. Even if they disagree, I need people like that too…
